"Is this... a smokescreen?"
Seeing the thick smoke suddenly rising from the battlefield, Artemisia couldn't help but frown.
The exaggerated, dense smoke covered almost a one-kiloter radius centered on Nia. Clearly, it was impossible to create such a massive smokescreen in such a short ti without prior preparation.
Although she believed her ambush was sufficiently concealed, judging from the current situation, she had to act on the premise that the enemy was on guard against her from the start.
With her vision suddenly blocked, it beca difficult to determine the location of the Sister she had previously locked onto.
If this continued, there was a risk that Hacker would use the smoke to escape with Sister.
Her hesitation lasted only an instant. Artemisia's speed increased instead of decreasing, and she charged into the thick fog without hesitation.
"Communications and Spirit sensors are both down? It's really not ordinary smoke."
Artemisia looked around. Her visible range was less than five ters; visibility was even worse than expected. In this environnt, coupled with sensor failure, it was basically no different from being blind.
"—!"
Suddenly, without warning, a monster appeared from behind Artemisia, bearing its fangs and claws to attack her.
—Alice.
A faint whisper escaped her lips. Without even turning her head, the monster seemingly hit an invisible, solid wall. Due to its insufficient structural integrity, it was smashed into a pile of mud.
However, there was clearly more than one monster lurking in the fog. Showing no signs of retreating from their comrade's bizarre self-destruction, an army of monsters had surrounded Artemisia at so point, lunging at her like mad dogs.
—Arondight.
Faced with this situation, Artemisia showed no panic. Her lovable face remained as calm as a placid lake.
Holding her dual-bladed laser sword, Artemisia flourished it, creating blooms of sword light.
As elegant and beautiful as a young girl dancing under flowers, the monsters suddenly stopped in their tracks, as if captivated by the sword dance.
The next instant, like a disassembled puzzle, all the surrounding monsters turned into blocky fragnts and fell to the ground. Even the surrounding smoke seed to thin out, affected by the aftershocks of her blades.
Where is Sister?
Just as Artemisia was thinking about how to find her target, a monster suddenly rushed out of the thick smoke. Ignoring Artemisia's presence, it took large strides to run away.
And on that monster, Artemisia saw a girl wearing a tattered nun's habit.
That person was none other than the target of her mission—the Spirit, Sister.
"Shido! Nia escaped from my side! Hurry up and catch her!"
An anxious voice rang out from the fog. It could be judged that it belonged to the Spirit codenad Hacker.
Sister had escaped from Hacker's grasp. Artemisia didn't let this chance slip away. She activated her Realizer and accelerated in pursuit of Nia.
"..."
Seemingly noticing the pursuer behind her, Nia, kneeling on the monster, quietly turned her head. Her lifeless eyes stared silently at Artemisia.
"...Beelzebub."
A raspy voice echoed, and a leather book inscribed with an inverted cross appeared in front of Nia.
Holding a quill pen, Nia began writing sothing on the pages.
"This is bad!"
Realizing the other party's intention, Artemisia cursed inwardly.
Although she wanted to evade, Future Entry was an ability with guaranteed hits once activated. In an instant, Artemisia felt her body stiffen, ignoring her will.
Just then, a smaller monster suddenly lunged at Artemisia. Like a wild beast opening its viscous mouth,it snatched away Artemisia's sword.
"Ugh—!"
Artemisia gritted her teeth, channeled her magic, pushed the intensity of her Territory to its limit, and broke free from the restraints of Future Entry.
—Lion.
The wings mounted on the back of her armor bent forward, resting on Artemisia's shoulders and transforming into cannons.
Magic blasts fired from the muzzles. Ignoring the visual disadvantage caused by the fog, they accurately hit the monster.
Her mount destroyed, the monster collapsed with a crash. Losing her foothold, Honjou Nia naturally fell towards the ground.
(It's over.)
Rushing swiftly behind Sister, Artemisia brought her fingers together.
—Cheshire Cat.
The Territory shrank to wrap around her palm, turning into fierce claws capable of piercing an Astral Dress.
Without any rcy, Artemisia thrust out her right hand, piercing through the Spirit's chest.
(Inverted Spirit Sister, capture complete...?)
Suddenly, sensing a strange incongruity, Artemisia frowned.
Right at her feet, the Demon King used by the Spirit... the color of the leather book's cover had changed from white to black. The embedded inverted cross had sohow flipped upright. And on the pages, a short sentence was written.
[Artemisia Bell Ashcroft ceased action, weapon Arondight was taken away by a monster.]
(Why does an Inverted Spirit know my na?)
A sudden chill ran down Artemisia's spine.
And right then, a burning pain shot up from her right hand that had pierced Sister.
Wisps of white flas burned at the wound she had pierced. The Inverted Spirit, who should have long lost her reason, spoke fluently.
"Ah... that hurts to death..."
Her pupils contracting sharply, Artemisia forcefully pulled her hand out, wanting to retreat and create distance from the other party.
However, before she realized it, bone-chilling ice had frozen her feet, freezing her Territory along with them, completely sealing her movents.
"This is... Hermit..."
Standing steadily on the ground, the chest wound Artemisia had pierced was now completely healed. The other party slowly turned around.
The Honjou Nia before her had now turned into a completely different person.
—Itsuka Shido.
———————————
It hurts! It hurts so much!
The agonizing pain of his chest being churned—every slight movent tugged at his nerves. The pain, strong enough to make one want to die, transmitted unreservedly to his brain, contorting Shido's expression.
Although Itsuka Shido had suffered many severe injuries in past incidents, in terms of sheer pain stimulation, none had probably ever been more agonizing than this.
Even though he had followed Yutsuki's instructions and use the Healing Flas to treat the wound the mont his chest was pierced, the excruciating pain, far beyond expectations, still caused Shido to shed tears.
(Plan... successful...)
Suddenly, the foreign object lodged in his chest was abruptly yanked out.
"—!!!!"
Honestly, if he could just pass out right now, it would be an imnse blessing for Itsuka Shido.
But right now, Itsuka Shido knew he absolutely couldn't just collapse like this.
Waiting for the wound to heal, Shido managed to steady himself and turned around. The disguise Haniel applied to him vanished at the sa ti.
Itsuka Shido couldn't help but observe the Wizard before him.
Unlike the domineering Ellen, the woman in front of him gave an unexpectedly docile impression.
Blonde hair tied in a classy style, blue eyes that seed to reflect the sky, characterized by fair skin—she was a beautiful woman who seed to be the personification of the word "lovable."
Honestly, even though she had just ruthlessly pierced his chest, Itsuka Shido's sensibilities couldn't muster much hostility towards this person.
However, that wasn't enough to make Shido hesitate or falter.
Reaching up to wipe the blood flowing from his mouth, Shido spoke in a weak voice.
"Gabriel."
Instantly, a massive pipe organ appeared beside Artemisia's ear.
"Artemisia Bell Ashcroft-san."
"Please exit the stage first."
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